Blueberry Meyer Lemon Marmalade

So, if you follow me on Instagram you know I’ve been a bit out of control lately when it comes to canning. As in….just last week alone I made candied jalapenos, strawberry rhubarb jam, this blueberry meyer lemon marmalade, apricot vanilla bean preserves and hot and spicy pickled green beans.

I told you I was out of control.

Naturally, I blame it on my nesting instinct. I’ve had this random burst in energy over the past five days and instead of sweeping out the nursery closet AGAIN or rearranging the pantry for the 14th time, I decided to put my energy towards canning. Makes sense, right?

The majority of the canning recipes I have tried have been straight out of my current favorite cookbook, Canning for a New Generation, by Liana Krissoff. I still consider myself a total canning newbie so I don’t feel comfortable yet developing my own recipes {for home canning you need a certain balance of acidity/sugar to properly preserve the food} but have been absolutely loving hers.

This is a book you’ll want to take to bed with you at night and read over and over! The photography is stunning and the recipes are all mouth watering. Even if you’ve never canned before — and I hadn’t before I bought this cookbook — Liana thoroughly explains everything and I’ve had total success with every one of the ten recipes I have tried so far.

Today I want to share the recipe for blueberry meyer lemon marmalade from Liana’s book! It’s a total stunner, guys. It tastes wonderful over anything {my current favorite is it spooned over a bagel with cream cheese} and makes for a wonderful gift. My landlord dropped off a big bag of meyer lemons last week and I immediately put them to good use in this recipe! When I saw her again yesterday, I handed her a jar of homemade marmalade that I made with her lemons and she was so excited. Who wouldn’t be?

To me, the scariest thing about canning {and why I never did it for so long} was the sterilization of the cans. I just thought that seemed so time consuming! But…it’s totally not. To sterilize my cans all I do is wash them thoroughly with hot soapy water then let them boil in the canning pot while I prep the rest of my ingredients. It’s not time consuming or hard in the least bit.

Since, like I said, I have become canning obsessed, I decided to invest in a few tools that help make the process way easier. You don’t NEED these tools but they are really nice to have and are not expensive.

All of this can be easily found at your local hardware store or online on Amazon. This set included a jar lifter, a funnel, a bubble remover thingy, a cool magnet tool to lift jar lids out of boiling water and that thing at the bottom that looks sort of like a scissors…it’s basically a smaller jar lifter. All that came in a set for less than $15. The candy thermometer and jelly strainer bags I bought separately from the hardware store.

I also have a canning pot that I got used off Amazon. You don’t need one, really — you can just use a gigantic pot — but I do love having it and would recommend one if you think you’re going to become canning obsessed like me.

But back to this recipe. You’ll need 2 lbs of blueberries and 1 pound meyer lemons. I haven’t tried this using regular lemons so I can’t personally attest to how that turns out. I love the slightly floral taste of meyer lemons so if you can find those {I always see them at Whole Foods}, I would use them.

This recipe uses all parts of the lemon – fruit, peel, membrane {thin white “casing” around the fruit} and seeds. Since blueberries are low pectin and this recipe does not contain any additional pectin, the marmalade benefits a lot from using the lemon parts to thicken up.

Doesn’t that photo make you just want to face dive into that pot? That’s just blueberries, sugar and lemon juice and it smells {and tastes!} absolutely amazing.

After making the marmalade and filling the jars, you can use the handy dandy magnetic lid lifter tool if you have it! This is my favorite canning tool. It helps lift the jar lids out of the boiling water and places them nicely on your jars so all you have to do is screw on the rings.

I was so impressed with how this marmalade turned out. It was my first time making marmalade and I think I’m addicted now. My love for sweet and sour is at an all time high right now and I am just about spooning this stuff over anything…fingers included.

Guys, this is my last recipe post for awhile! Baby Beaugh could be joining us any day now and I’ll be posting recipes again at the end of June after I take some time off to spend with my family. There will still be intermittent lifestyle posts though, so check back for those!I have a nursery tour post in the works right now. Thank you for your patience and for respecting our decision to take time off from this blog to focus on caring for a newborn!

Sterilize the jars and keep them hot in your canning pot. Place a small plate in the freezer to chill and put all of the flat lids in a heatproof bowl. Set aside.

Cut the bottom and top off each meyer lemon. Cut the lemon into segments, keeping the peel on. Reserve all the lemon seeds and membranes and set aside. Cut the lemons into 1/4th inch chunks. Put the lemon membranes and seeds into a jelly bag or cheesecloth and tie shut. Set everything aside.

Place the blueberries, lemon juice and sugar into a large preserving pot {I use my Le Creuset dutch oven for this}. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently, and continue to cook until the juices are just deep enough to cover the blueberries – about 5 minutes. Pour into a colander placed over a large bowl to catch the juice. Gently stir the fruit to release more juice, then pour just the juice back into the pot. Reserve the fruit for later.

Bring the juice to a boil over high heat. Add the lemons and the bag with the lemon trimmings. Boil, stirring occasionally, until the syrup has reduced and registers 220 degrees on a candy thermometer – this should take about 15 minutes. jenna’s note: my syrup never reached 220 degrees but reduced a ton and got really thick. I took it off the heat at around 215 degrees.

Add the blueberries back to the syrup and bring to a simmer. Cook for another 5-8 minutes, or until a small spoonful of the jam placed on your chilled plate thickens. jenna’s note: this took about 6 minutes for me. I dropped a small bit onto my chilled plate and returned the plate to the freezer for a minute. After one minute, it had slightly thickened up so it was no longer “runny”. It will not gel…you just don’t want it to be super runny when you tilt the chilled plate.

When marmalade thickens, remove from heat. Ladle boiling water from the canning pot into the bowl with your lids. Using a jar lifter, carefully remove the hot sterilized jars from the hot water in your pot. Pour out all the water from the jars and place the jars on a clean dishcloth.

Ladle the hot marmalade into the jars, leaving 1/4″ headspace {this is WAY easier if you have a simple funnel tool like I have in the photo above. You can get them for really cheap at any hardware store}. Place a flat lid on each jar and gently screw on the band – just finger-tight. If you tighten too much the jars will not seal.

Place all the jars back into your canning pot and crank the heat to high. When the water starts to rapidly boil, set your timer for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove the jars from the boiling water using a jar lifter. Place on the dishcloth and do not disturb for 12 hours. jenna’s note: I don’t really adhere to the “12 hour rule”. I let the jars cool for an hour then I check to make sure they all have sealed before I label and put away in dry storage.

Correctly sealed jars will have a concave top – you should not be able to push down at all on the lid. If a jar did not seal, the marmalade is still good — just place in the fridge. Sealed jars will stay good for about a year sealed at room temperature.

Canning is so fun! I tend to go nuts in August when the fresh fruit and produce is everywhere and I can have my husband help me at night after the kids are in bed. Though I do find I’ve skipped summers where there’s been a newborn (nuts – maybe I can manage a few recipes this summer – third baby shouldn’t be so bad, right??). I found that once I’d done the whole process a couple of times it made much more sense, though I am not about to start pressure canning anytime soon!

I just bought a micro-canning cookbook on my kindle, she makes tiny recipes designed for city cooks, but I’m excited to try some of these! Preserving by the Pint by Marisa McLellan.

Best of luck to you, Adam, and the baby, Jenna! Take all the time you need – your baby will never be a newborn again so cherish every single minute. As someone reassured me, your readers will still be here when you get back – think nothing of it!!

Canning is one of the things I am most excited for when we move to a new house. Our current apartment is too small to store the cans, but as soon as we have space, the jam/tomatoes/pickles/you name it is taking over!

Kim S

April 29, 2014 at 7:40 am

All I can say is ENJOY every moment! Even the uncomfortable or new ones. He will never be a newborn again. In the blink of an eye, he’ll be all grown up. All your readers will be here when your ready – give us a quick shout when he’s arrived so we can welcome him! Prayers to you, k

Nandhini

Judith Scott

April 29, 2014 at 11:08 am

Great post, 2 of my fave ingredients, so will try soon. Interestingly enough, I had never canned myself, until I was about 3 months pregnant with my 1st. My brother gave me a crate of the most amazing home grown apples from Scott’s Valley, and I was hooked! Made tons of apple sauce for my little one (she loved it, and so much better than store bought as you can control the sugar). Also got some large jars and made apple pie filling so when the urge to bake struck, I just made a crust and filled with 1 jar…perfect.
I agree with Jennifer, the energy means get ready!
Enjoy your time off with your precious boys.
Sure we’ll all miss you but will look forward to hearing all about things when you return.

Stacy G.

Megan

April 29, 2014 at 3:04 pm

Do you know if it’s necessary to have some kind of rack in your pot of boiling water for the jars to stand on (when they are filled with food)? Or can the jars just be placed into the boiling water? Thank you!

Karen

May 3, 2014 at 1:12 pm

Hi Jenna – Just wanted to send you my very best wishes for a blessed birth-day! So excited for you and Adam…soak in every moment your little guy and take the time off that you need/want. We’ll all miss you and will be cheering you on from the sidelines xo, Karen